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Michael Strahan may have hung up his cleats after his Super Bowl–winning 2007 season with the New York Giants, but he’s still a jock at heart. The Live with Kelly and Michaelco-host trains twice a day, three days a week, and throws in two more single sessions a week for good measure, usually taking weekends completely off. While Strahan doesn’t need to be in defensive lineman shape to handle his 5'3" co-host, his workouts—and physique—don’t indicate he’s lightened up much since exiting the gridiron. We asked Strahan’strainer for the details of his program.
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HOW IT WORKS
“Our morning workouts are high-endurance, functional sessions,” says Latreal Mitchell, Strahan’s trainer (latrealmitchell.com). “The second session of the day isheavy lifting—more of a bodybuilding split.” The combination keeps Strahan healthy and lean while maintaining muscle. Included here is a typical morning routine, done as a circuit to keep the heart rate up and build conditioning, and a sample afternoon session, where the back, hamstrings, and abs are targeted.
DIRECTIONS
Perform the morning workout as a circuit. Complete one set for each exercise in turn, resting as little as possible between exercises. Repeat for 3–4 total circuits. (The workout should take 20–30 minutes.) Perform the afternoon workout as straight sets, completing three sets of 10 reps for each exercise in turn.
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MORNING WORKOUT
1. BATTLING ROPE UP/DOWN WAVE
Reps: Repeat for 30–45 sec.
Attach battling ropes to a secure anchor point and grasp an end in each hand. Get into an athletic stance with hips and knees bent and raise both ends in the air. Slam them down into the floor and repeat as quickly as possible—your reps should cause therope to make waves.
2. SLIDER KNEE TUCK
Reps: 20
Get into pushup position, resting your feet on furniture sliders, Valslides (available at valslide.com), or towels or paper plates (if you’re on a waxed wooden floor). Brace your abs and draw your knees up to your chest, sliding your feet along the floor. Don’t let your lower back round.
3. BATTLE ROPE IN/OUT WAVE (PICTURED ABOVE)
Reps: Repeat for 30–45 sec.
Set up as you did for the up/down wave but spread your arms apart and out to your sides. Now bring them in front of you quickly. Repeat to create waves.
4. KETTLEBELL SWING
Reps:20
Hold a kettlebell with both hands (or grasp one of the ends of a dumbbell) and bend your hips back while keeping your lower back in its natural arch. Allow your knees to bend naturally. When you feel astretch in your glutes, explosively extend your hips and let the momentum swing the weight up to eye level.
5. ALTERNATING REVERSE LUNGE
Reps:Repeat for 30–45 sec. (each side)
Set up as you did for the previous rope waves and begin waving the rope with alternating hands—raise your left arm and then the right; slam the left side and then the right. While you’re waving the rope, step back with one leg into alunge, lowering your body until your back knee is just above the floor.
6. MEDICINE BALL SLAM
Reps: 20
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold an eight- to 10-pound ball in front of your chest. Raise your arms overhead until you feel a stretch in yourabs, then throw the ball hard into the floor. Catch it on the rebound.
7. V-UP WITH SWISS BALL
Reps: 10
Lie on your back on the floor and place a Swiss ball between your feet. Squeeze the ball and raise it off the floor with your legs straight. At the same time crunch your torso up and reach for the ball with your arms straight. Pass the ball from your feet to your hands and lower your torso and legs to the floor, reaching the ball behind your head. Repeat the V-up and pass the ball back to your feet. Each pass is one rep.
8. JUMP ROPE
Reps:Jump for 60 sec.
The rope’s handles should reach up to chest level when you stand in the middle of it. Perform any style of jump you like for 60 seconds.
